Are Undergraduates Familiar with Nephrology as a Medical Specialty? A Single Site Survey of Undergraduate Students. Issue 8 (25th August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hopkins, Julia; Velez, Juan Carlos Q.; Arthur, John M.; Janech, Michael G.
• Is Part Of: Kidney360. Volume 3:Issue 8(2022)
• Page Start: 1332
• Page End: 1340
• Publication Date: 2022-08-25
• Subjects: chronic kidney disease -- career -- exposure -- fellowship -- nephrology -- students; 616.61
• DOI: 10.34067/KID.0002472022
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2641-7650

Abstract

Key Points: There is a discrepancy in the undergraduate population's ability to recognize the word "nephrology" compared with other medical specialties. The number of US fellowship applicants in 2020 was related to medical specialty name recognition in the undergraduate population. Visual Abstract: Abstract : Background: Over the past decade, nephrology has experienced a 43% decline in the number of fellowship applicants. Previous studies examining why residents choose a fellowship program cite lack of exposure as a main factor having an effect against a career in nephrology; however, no studies have surveyed the undergraduate population to inquire whether they recognize nephrology as a medical specialty compared with other medical specialties. We conducted a survey at a primarily undergraduate institution in the Southeast United States to test whether undergraduate students identified the word "nephrology." Methods: A total of 274 undergraduates responded to a survey that requested them to select every medical specialty that they recognized by name (15 real specialties and one fictitious specialty). Demographics regarding sex, race, collegiate level, high school location, premedical track, and household income were collected. Correlations between survey findings and rates of application and average salary per specialty were assessed. Results: Out of 15 medical specialties, nephrology (29%) and pulmonology (40%) were the least recognized. Pediatrics (97%) and surgery (97%) ranked highest. Sex, race, collegiate level, and household income were not different between those students who recognized "nephrology" and those who did not. Premedical students were about twice as likely to have recognized nephrology versus nonpremedical students (49% versus 22%, respectively; P <0.001). STEM majors were about twice as likely to identify nephrology versus non-STEM majors (40% versus 20%, respectively; P <0.001). The proportion of undergraduate students who recognized a specific medical specialty significantly correlated only with the number of US applicants per fellowship position across different medical specialties in 2020 ( P <0.05). Conclusions: On the basis of word association alone, nephrology is the one of the least recognized specialties by undergraduates. The discrepancy between nephrology and other specialties highlights a gap in name recognition at an early career stage, even among premedical students.